Shark Stuns Scientists With ‘Virgin Birth’

Scientists at the Reef HQ Aquarium in Australia observed the asexual reproduction of a female captive zebra shark. The “virgin birth” occurred three years after the shark had mated with a male shark and after it had been transferred to a tank without any male sharks in 2012.

The shark, named Leonie, continued to lay eggs for years until scientists observed that some of the eggs began to hatch. Three of them are viable pups.

According to National Geographic, scientists think it might be a case of stored sperm – however the gentic diversity of the pups suggest that they only had one parent not two.